A nice creative story that draws you in. Stuff like Steins Gate, Angel Beats and Death Note are really interesting. There is nothing else like them in like the stuff on T.V. these days. I also really appreciate bits of humor as well as memorable characters. One Piece would probably do it for me on the memorable characters part.

Well I do like a few shows on TV but their always mostly documentaries and panel discussion type programs. The rest of TV turns your brain to mush.

But you need some pointless enjoyable things in life. You can be selective with anime and watch it as something recreational instead of doing that with the vast un-beneficial mush making remaining programs on TV.

Of pointless stuff to view it's far better written, more grander phantasmagoria, characters are more likable and interesting, even relatable - TV no, just no.

Honestly though, I like anime for the same reason I like cartoons and animation in general. Impossible character designs and action scenes /stylistic choices that could never be replicated in real life. Obviously I want decent characters and a story alongside it, but what draws me to anime and cartoons above movies and TV is the art.

It's a highly stylized method for unrestrictive storytelling. The art is unique and attractive and the subject matter can vary from childlike to the most violent and profane while touching on everything in between.

Well, it's pretty....You can tell that they take pride in their work (borderline obsessed?) as opposed to the sh*t that they churn out over here just to sell a product. Also, the storylines are geared towards everyone, and not just children.

It seems I agree with a lot of others in this thread. I really like the art and stories even if some of them are overdone. Some anime series find a way to tell a similar story in a more unique and entertaining way and I enjoy seeing that. The artwork and soundtracks are really nice too. There are just some shows that nail both perfectly to give the anime a very awesome atmosphere that gives the show even more depth.

If I had to sum it up, I'd say that most products from most mediums tend to try to be realistic. Anime, rather than trying to be real, tends toward the ideal.

I've seen some really basic ideas taken to the most ridiculous extremes, and there's something really nice about having almost everything exaggerated. As long as you get the point across, who cares whether it makes sense in the real world? The art, in particular, seems to have a built in capacity for expressing whatever the hell you want very easily. Does the sky turn red when someone dies? No, but it certainly sets the mood. Want your characters to have heart-shaped pupils? No problem -- drawing them in takes almost the same amount of work. Were it a live-action show, you'd need to find contacts, or do a lot of editing, or generally just go through a lot of work for something that really isn't that important. Animation makes it possible to do a lot of unrealistic things very easily, which lends to a really surreal atmosphere with some shows.

On top of that, the fact that it's animated allows you to match better actors/actresses with the best characters, because you don' t need to worry about whether they "look" right, which is an unfortunate reality with live-action. Animation also allows you, to an extent, to only need to worry about how good the story is, rather than whether a budget is possible. A space-opera romance thriller might require a huge budget for a live-action production, but with anime, it becomes less limiting. In a sense, you only have to worry about whether or not the idea is good, and then fix a budget for what you can afford. You also get shows that are basically just 12 episodes of conversation, which get huge budgets, so it's nice to know that only good ideas (or ones that will sell ) are relevant. This seems to becoming less of a problem with CG nowadays though.

On top of that, there are a few things which aren't really a direct result of the animation medium, but are nonetheless trends in anime. I think most people that watch anime tend to enjoy fantasy (not the genre, but more in the sense that you'd use the word "fantasizing") more than reality, so themes, events, characters, plots, etc. are more likely to be really exaggerated regardless of whether they would exist in the real world. This is why Tsunderes throw someone out a window over something minor, why Sagara Sousuke can believably use C4 to get into a classroom, and why Haruhi can sexually assault anyone she wants. Anything is acceptable as long as it makes the point. Anything can be a tool to develop a character the way you'd like him to be. It doesn't really have any logical reason to be more common in anime than in live-action, and you certainly see it in every medium there is, but for some reason, anime fans seem to be more accepting of really ridiculous shit as long as it's useful, and I like that.